High efficiency moisture removal dehumidification device for dehumidifying low temperature storage

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to a dehumidifier for dehumidification of high-efficiency moisture for dehumidifying a low-temperature storage, which may dehumidify supplied humid air using a dehumidifying liquid, use a water seal vacuum pump to bring air into contact with the dehumidifying liquid, and control humidity of the discharged air by sequentially arranging a plurality of pumps and a plurality of chambers in pairs. In addition, there is provided a dehumidifier for dehumidification of moisture in which a dehumidifying liquid is regenerated by using heat generated from a pump inside a device and heat from external equipment.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2021-0112783, filed on Aug. 26, 2021. The entire contents of the above-listed are hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The following disclosure relates to a moisture removing and dehumidifying device, and more particularly, to a high-efficiency moisture removing and dehumidifying device for dehumidifying and discharging humid air introduced through a pipe.

BACKGROUND

An air conditioning system has an air conditioning system including a dehumidifier for air conditioning. An operation of a dehumidifying cooling cycle using a liquid dehumidifying agent was made possible by physical properties of the dehumidifying liquid, which sucks water vapor from the ambient air at a low temperature, dehumidifies air while diluting a concentration of the dehumidifying liquid, and discharges the water vapor to the air at a high temperature. The exchange of the water vapor between air and the dehumidifying liquid depends on a relative magnitude of a partial pressure of the water vapor in the air and a vapor pressure on a surface of the dehumidifying liquid in contact with the air. At a given vapor pressure, the humid air is dehumidified through an absorption process at a low temperature according to the difference in vapor pressure between the dehumidifying liquid and the air, and the dehumidifying liquid is regenerated through a dehydration process at a high temperature.

In general, it is designed to supply the humid air into a chamber, but increase a contact area by spraying the dehumidifying liquid at an upper end of the chamber. Thereafter, the dehumidifying liquid absorbing moisture is collected and the temperature is raised, or the dehumidifying liquid is regenerated using dry air. This requires a large space for spraying the dehumidifying liquid.

SUMMARY

An embodiment of the present disclosure is directed to providing a dehumidifier including a dehumidifying liquid and a procedure for dehumidifying humid air using a plurality of vacuum pumps and tanks.

Another embodiment of the present disclosure is directed to providing a dehumidifier for controlling a degree of dehumidification by sequentially arranging a plurality of pairs of vacuum pumps and tanks.

Still another embodiment of the present disclosure is directed to providing a dehumidifier that regenerates the used dehumidifying liquid by using heat generated from a pump.

Still yet another embodiment of the present disclosure is directed to providing a dehumidifier that regenerates a dehumidifying liquid by receiving a heat source from an external device in a system.

In one general aspect, a dehumidifier using a dehumidifying liquid includes: a pump having humid air introduced thereinto, receiving a dehumidifying liquid, mixed with air, and transferring the mixture; and a tank connected to the pump and separate a gas and the dehumidifying liquid, in which the pump and the tank may be sequentially arranged in plurality in pairs to dehumidify the introduced air.

The dehumidifier may further include: a first passage into which the humid air is introduced; a first pump sucking the air from the first passage, receiving a primary dehumidifying liquid, mixing the air and the primary dehumidifying liquid, and discharging the mixture; a first tank connected to the first pump, mixing the primary dehumidifying liquid introduced into the first tank with an internal solution and then regenerating the first primary dehumidifying liquid, and discharging dehumidified air vaporized under a low pressure environment to a second passage; a second pump sucking the dehumidified air from the second passage connected to the first tank, receiving a secondary dehumidifying liquid, mixing the secondary dehumidifying liquid with the dehumidified air, and discharging the mixture; and a second tank connected to the second pump, mixing the secondary dehumidifying liquid introduced into the second tank with the internal solution, and then discharging the dehumidified air to a third passage.

The first pump and the second pump may include a water seal vacuum pump, and the second pump creates the connected first tank in a vacuum environment.

The first tank may be connected to the first pump and may include a fourth passage supplying the internal solution as the primary dehumidifying liquid to the first pump.

The second tank may be connected to the second pump and may include a sixth passage supplying the internal solution as the secondary dehumidifying liquid to the second pump, and the sixth passage may pass through the first tank and exchange heat with the internal solution.

The first tank may be further supplied with a heat source from external equipment to exchange heat with the internal solution.

The primary dehumidifying liquid and the secondary dehumidifying liquid may contain an aqueous potassium formate solution.

In another general aspect, a method of regenerating a dehumidifying liquid including a dehumidifier includes: a step of collecting an internal solution diluted due to dehumidification in the first tank; a vaporizing step in which the first tank in a vacuum environment due to the second pump, and the internal solution reaches a boiling point to be regenerated; and a step of supplying the internal solution as the dehumidifying liquid to the first pump through a fourth passage after the vaporizing step.

The vaporizing step may include a heat exchanging step in which the diluted internal solution receives heat generated from the second pump through a sixth passage.

The vaporizing step may include a heat transfer step of receiving a heat source from external equipment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a dehumidification configuration diagram of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a multi-stage design.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an additional embodiment of an external heat source of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating another embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a dehumidification operation according to an embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a regeneration operation according to an embodiment

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF MAIN ELEMENTS

1: Freezing warehouse

110: First pump

120: Second pump

130: Third pump

210: First tank

220: Second tank

230: Third tank

310: First passage

320: Second passage

330: Third passage

340: Fourth passage

350: Fifth passage

360: Sixth passage

370: Seventh passage

380: Eighth passage

390: Ninth passage

400: External equipment

410: Collector

420: Heat storage tank

510: First valve

520: Second valve

530: Third valve

600: Bypass passage

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure relates to an air dehumidifying and dehumidifying liquid regeneration device, which may perform dehumidification by bringing air into contact with a dehumidifying liquid using a water seal pump, control humidity of discharged air by installing a plurality of pumps and a plurality of tanks in multiple stages, and regenerate the dehumidifying liquid using heat generated from the pump.

Hereinafter, as described above, a dehumidifier for dehumidifying a storage room according to the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[1] Principle of the Present Disclosure

The present disclosure relates to a dehumidifier using a dehumidifying liquid, including: a pump having humid air introduced thereinto, receiving a dehumidifying liquid, mixed with air, and transferring the mixture, and a tank connected to the pump and separate a gas and the dehumidifying liquid, in which the pump and the tank are sequentially arranged in plurality in pairs to dehumidify the introduced air.

In the pipe connected to the storage including the humid air, the dehumidification by suction of air inside the storage through a vacuum pump is made by mixing air and dehumidifying liquid. The dehumidifying liquid is transferred to a tank through the pump, and is separated into a gas in the tank. A plurality of pumps and a plurality of tanks are sequentially arranged in pairs to control the dehumidification state of the discharged air.

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 1 , the device includes a first passage 310 through which humid air is introduced, a first pump 110 sucking the air from the first passage 310, receiving a primary dehumidifying liquid, mixing the air and the primary dehumidifying liquid, and discharging the mixture, a first tank 210 connected to the first pump 110, mixing the primary dehumidifying liquid introduced into the first tank with an internal solution and then regenerating the first primary dehumidifying liquid, and discharging dehumidified air vaporized under a low pressure environment to a second passage 320, a second pump 120 sucking the dehumidified air from the second passage 320 connected to the first tank 210, receiving a secondary dehumidifying liquid, mixing the secondary dehumidifying liquid with the dehumidified air, and discharging the mixture, and a second tank 220 connected to the second pump 120, mixing the secondary dehumidifying liquid introduced into the second tank with the internal solution, and then discharging the dehumidified air to a third passage 330.

One end of the first passage 310 is connected to a space containing the humid air, and the other end of the first passage 310 is connected to the first pump 110 sucking air. The first pump 110 is provided with a vacuum pump to suck the humid air by lowering an air pressure in a space connected to one end of the first passage 310.

The first pump 110 may be provided with the vacuum pump and a water seal vacuum pump, and may include a first dehumidifying liquid therein. The first dehumidifying liquid may include an aqueous potassium formate solution. The first dehumidifying liquid comes into contact with the sucked air to absorb moisture, and a fifth passage 350 connected to the first pump 110 moves the liquid absorbing moisture to the first tank 210.

The first tank 210 receives the liquid absorbing moisture from the fifth passage 350, and the vacuum environment is created through the second pump 120 connected to the second passage 320 at a rear end of the first tank 210. In the first tank 210 in which the vacuum environment is created, a gas and a liquid are separated. The separated liquid remains in the first tank 210, and the gas is moved to the second pump 120 through the second passage 320. In this case, the gas moving through the second passage 320 has a lower humidity than the gas introduced through the first passage 310. The separated liquid is introduced into the first pump 110 through the fourth passage 340, and the liquid in a dilute solution state including moisture is regenerated by receiving the vacuum environment and heat and transferred to the first pump 110. The detailed regeneration step of the dehumidifying liquid will be described later.

The second pump 120 may be provided with the vacuum pump and a water seal vacuum pump, and may include a second dehumidifying liquid therein. The gas supplied through the second passage 320 comes into contact with the second dehumidifying liquid to absorb moisture, and moves to the second tank 220 through the connected eighth passage 380. In this case, the second pump 120 heats the second dehumidifying liquid using heat generated by operation.

The second tank 220 maintains an atmospheric pressure state, the liquid introduced through the eighth passage 380 is separated into liquid and gas, and the gas is discharged through the third passage 330. In this case, the gas discharged through the third passage 330 has a lower humidity than the gas introduced through the second passage 320. The separated liquid is heated by the second pump 120, transferred to the second pump 120 through a sixth passage 360 and a seventh passage 370, in which the sixth passage 360 is disposed so that the second dehumidifying liquid discharged from the second tank 220 passes through the first tank 210, heat exchange is performed in the first tank 210, and then the second dehumidifying liquid is transferred to the second pump 120 through the seventh passage 370.

In this case, the first pump 110 and the second pump 120 are provided with the same water seal vacuum pump, and the used dehumidifying liquid may have the same type and concentration.

FIG. 2 is a dehumidification configuration diagram of the present disclosure. The temperature and humidity of a fluid in each configuration will be described in detail in the dehumidification configuration diagram as an example.

Referring to FIG. 2 , a space containing low-temperature humid air of −20° C. and a humidity of 70% is supplied to the first pump 110 through the first passage 310, and the first dehumidifying liquid of 20° C. and a concentration of 70% is supplied to the first pump 110 through the fourth passage 340. The air supplied to the first pump 110 and the first dehumidifying liquid come into contact with each other, the dehumidifying liquid absorbing moisture is transferred through the fifth passage 350, and the first dehumidifying liquid of 15° C. and a concentration of 60% is transferred to the first tank 210.

In the first tank 210, the liquid and gas are separated, and the vacuum environment is created by the second pump 120 connected to the rear end of the first tank 210, and the separated gas is transferred. The separated gas has 20° C. and a humidity of 50%, and is transferred to the second pump 120 through the second passage 320. The second dehumidifying liquid of 30° C. and a concentration of 70% is supplied to the second pump 120 through the seventh passage 370, the second pump 120 brings the supplied gas into contact with the second dehumidifying liquid, and transfers the supplied gas and the second dehumidifying liquid to an eighth passage 380, and the second dehumidifying liquid of 40° C. and a concentration of 60% is transferred to the second tank 220 through the eighth passage 380.

In this case, unlike the first pump 110, the second pump 120 transfers heat generated by operation to the second dehumidifying liquid rather than cooling water to increase the temperature.

In the second tank 220, the atmospheric pressure environment is created, the supplied second dehumidifying liquid in a liquid state is separated into a gas and a liquid, and a gas of 40° C. and a humidity of 30% is discharged through the third passage 330. The separated second dehumidifying liquid is supplied to the second pump 120, and the heat exchange is performed in the first tank 210 through the sixth passage 360, and the second dehumidifying liquid whose temperature is lowered after the heat exchange is supplied to the second pump 120 through the seventh passage 370.

Comparing the humidity in the gases of the first passage 310, the second passage 320, and the third passage 330, the humidity gradually decreases to 70% for the first passage 310, 50% for the second passage 320, and 30% for the third passage 330.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a multi-stage design. In the dehumidifier of the present disclosure, the plurality of pumps and the plurality of tanks may be sequentially arranged in pairs so that the introduced air is dehumidified, and the degree of dehumidification may be adjusted. Referring to FIG. 3 , a third pump 130, which is a vacuum pump, is disposed at the rear end of the second tank 220 to create the same vacuum environment as the first tank 210 in the second tank 220, and the third pump 130 is connected to the third pump 130, which is an atmospheric pressure environment, to discharge the dehumidified gas. By sequentially arranging the pumps and the tanks in pairs as illustrated in FIG. 3 , the gas having the required humidity is discharged.

In addition, the dehumidifier of the present disclosure may configure a system in parallel, and is sufficiently deformable according to the needs of the designer. When configuring the system in parallel, it is possible to discharge gases with different temperatures and humidity through different types of dehumidifying liquids or aqueous solutions with different concentrations.

FIG. 4 illustrates an additional embodiment of an external heat source of the present disclosure. The heat generated from the second pump 120 is transferred to the first tank 210, but a heat source may be supplied from other equipment as needed. FIG. 4 has the same system as in FIG. 1 , and the first tank 210 receives an additional heat source from the outside to increase the internal temperature of the first dehumidifying liquid. The dilute solution inside the first tank 210 is regenerated by the heat generated from the vacuum environment and the second pump 120 and the heat received from the external equipment 400. In the first tank 210, a ninth passage 390 that receives heat from the external equipment 400 is additionally disposed.

[2] Another Embodiments of the Present Disclosure

FIG. 5 illustrates another embodiment of the present disclosure. Specific positions of a plurality of valves arranged are illustrated in the drawings, and heat is additionally transferred to the first tank 210. Referring to FIG. 5 , the configuration is similar to that of FIG. 1 , but a first valve 510 is disposed in the fifth passage 350, and a third valve 530 is disposed in the second passage 320. In this case, the second passage 320 is provided with a bypass passage 600 before the third valve 530, and the bypass passage 600 is provided with a second valve 520 and connected to a freezing warehouse 1 connected to the first passage 310.

As illustrated in FIG. 4 , a configuration that receives a heat source from external equipment is included, but according to the embodiment, a collector 410 is disposed outside and a heat storage tank 420 connected to the collector 410 is disposed in the sixth passage 360. For this reason, unlike FIG. 4 , heat generated from the collector 410 is not directly transferred to the first tank 210, but heat generated from the collector 410 and heat generated from the second pump 120 are transferred to the heat storage tank 420 to transfer heat to the first tank 210. As a result, the transferred heat and the temperature in the first tank 210 may be smoothly controlled.

The air dehumidification and the regeneration of the dehumidifying liquid are controlled under control of a plurality of valves disposed in the passage. In this case, a dehumidification module line and a regeneration module line are divided through the plurality of valves arranged, and will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 . The dehumidification module line and the regeneration module line do not operate at the same time. The dehumidifying module line is operated to dehumidify humid air in the freezing warehouse 1, and the regeneration module line is operated to regenerate the dehumidifying liquid having a lower concentration.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a dehumidification operation according to an embodiment. During the dehumidification operation, the state of each valve should be described as the basis. Referring to FIG. 6 , the first valve 510 disposed in the fifth passage 350 that connects between the first pump 110 and the first tank 210 and the second valve 520 disposed in the bypass passage 600 that connects between the second passage 320 and the freezing warehouse 1 are in an open state, and the third valve 530 disposed in the second passage 320 and disposed after the bypass passage 600 is in a closed state.

The freezing warehouse 1 having low-temperature humid air is supplied to the first pump 110 through the first passage 310, and the first pump 110 is in contact with the supplied low-temperature humid air and the dehumidifying liquid supplied through the fifth passage 350, and the humid air and the dehumidifying liquid are transferred to the first tank 210. In the first tank 210, a gas and a liquid are separated. The separated gas is transferred through the second passage 320, and the third valve 530 is closed so that the dehumidified air is supplied to the freezing warehouse 1 through the bypass passage 600.

In this case, the bypass passage 600 may be additionally provided with a heat exchanger for cooling air, and the air may be discharged to the freezing warehouse 1 by bypassing the cooler rather than the freezing warehouse 1.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of a regeneration operation according to an embodiment. In the regeneration operation, the state of each valve will be described as the basis. Referring to FIG. 7 , the first valve 510 disposed in the fifth passage that is a supply passage of the first tank 210 and the second valve 520 disposed in the bypass passage 600 are in a closed state, and the third valve 530 disposed in the second passage that connects between the first tank 210 and the second pump 120 is in an open state.

The first dehumidifying liquid in the first tank 210 is in a dilute solution state by absorbing moisture from the supplied air. In order to regenerate the dehumidifying liquid, the inside of the first tank 210 is created in the vacuum environment, and the heat source is supplied through the sixth passage 360 to regenerate the first dehumidifying liquid absorbing moisture.

To describe the dehumidifying liquid regeneration process step-by-step, the process includes a step of collecting an internal solution diluted due to dehumidification in the first tank, a vaporizing step in which the first tank in a vacuum environment due to the second pump, and the internal solution reaches a boiling point to be regenerated, and a step of supplying the internal solution as the dehumidifying liquid to the first pump through a fourth passage after the vaporizing step.

The vaporizing step includes a heat exchange step in which the diluted internal solution receives heat generated from the second pump through the sixth passage, and the vaporizing step includes a heat transfer step of receiving a heat source from external equipment.

According to the present disclosure, a procedure for dehumidifying humid air using a dehumidifying liquid and a plurality of vacuum pumps and tanks is included.

In addition, a degree of dehumidification is controlled by sequentially arranging a plurality of vacuum pumps and tanks in pairs.

In addition, the used dehumidifying liquid is regenerated by using heat generated from a pump.

In addition, the used dehumidifying liquid is regenerated by receiving a heat source from an external device in the system.

The present disclosure may be variously modified and have several exemplary embodiments. Therefore, specific exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be illustrated in the accompanying drawings and be described in detail. However, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to a specific exemplary embodiment, but includes all modifications, equivalents, and substitutions without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.

It is to be understood that when one element is referred to as being “connected to” or “coupled to” another element, it may be connected directly to or coupled directly to another element or be connected to or coupled to another element, having the other element intervening therebetween.

Unless being defined otherwise, it is to be understood that all the terms used in the present specification including technical and scientific terms have the same meanings as those that are generally understood by those skilled in the art.

It should be understood that the terms defined by the dictionary are identical with the meanings within the context of the related art, and they should not be ideally or excessively formally defined unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

The present disclosure is not limited to the abovementioned exemplary embodiments, but may be variously applied, and may be variously modified without departing from the gist of the present disclosure. 

1. A dehumidifier using a dehumidifying liquid, comprising: a pump having humid air introduced thereinto, receiving the dehumidifying liquid, mixed with air, and transferring the mixture; and a tank connected to the pump and separate a gas and the dehumidifying liquid, wherein the pump and the tank are sequentially arranged in plurality in pairs to dehumidify the introduced air.
 2. The dehumidifier of claim 1, further comprising: a first passage into which the humid air is introduced; a first pump sucking the air from the first passage, receiving a primary dehumidifying liquid, mixing the air and the primary dehumidifying liquid, and discharging the mixture; a first tank connected to the first pump, mixing the primary dehumidifying liquid introduced into the first tank with an internal solution and then regenerating the primary dehumidifying liquid, and discharging dehumidified air vaporized under a low pressure environment to a second passage; a second pump sucking the dehumidified air from the second passage connected to the first tank, receiving a secondary dehumidifying liquid, mixing the secondary dehumidifying liquid with the dehumidified air, and discharging the mixture; and a second tank connected to the second pump, mixing the secondary dehumidifying liquid introduced into the second tank with the internal solution, and then discharging the dehumidified air to a third passage.
 3. The dehumidifier of claim 2, wherein the first pump and the second pump include a water seal vacuum pump, and the second pump creates the connected first tank in a vacuum environment.
 4. The dehumidifier of claim 3, wherein the first tank is connected to the first pump and includes a fourth passage supplying the internal solution as the primary dehumidifying liquid to the first pump.
 5. The dehumidifier of claim 4, wherein the second tank is connected to the second pump and includes a sixth passage supplying the internal solution as the secondary dehumidifying liquid to the second pump, and the sixth passage passes through the first tank and exchanges heat with the internal solution.
 6. The dehumidifier of claim 5, wherein the first tank is further supplied with a heat source from external equipment to exchange heat with the internal solution.
 7. The dehumidifier of claim 6, wherein the primary dehumidifying liquid and the secondary dehumidifying liquid contain an aqueous potassium formate solution.
 8. A method of regenerating a dehumidifying liquid including the dehumidifier of claim 4, the method comprising: collecting an internal solution diluted due to dehumidification in the first tank; a vaporizing step in which the first tank in a vacuum environment due to the second pump, and the internal solution reaches a boiling point to be regenerated; and supplying the internal solution as the dehumidifying liquid to the first pump through a fourth passage after the vaporizing step.
 9. The dehumidifier of claim 8, wherein the vaporizing step includes a heat exchanging step in which the diluted internal solution receives heat generated from the second pump through a sixth passage.
 10. The dehumidifier of claim 9, wherein the vaporizing step includes a heat transfer step of receiving a heat source from external equipment. 